Dinitrogen tetroxide decomposes according to the reversible reaction N _2 O _4(g) ; ;…
CHEMISTRY · Multi-part · A Level · Chemistry · Chemical equilibria (Le Chatelier’s principle and Kc) · Chemical equilibria (Le Chatelier’s principle and Kc)
Problem
Dinitrogen tetroxide decomposes according to the reversible reaction
N2O4(g)⇌2NO2(g)
At 298 K the equilibrium constant for this reaction is reported as Kc=4.5×10−3.
(1) Classify the reaction at 298 K as product-favored, reactant-favored, or neither. Briefly support your classification.
(2) Describe, in words, the relative concentrations of N2O4 and NO2 that would be present once the system has reached equilibrium at 298 K.
(3) Explain why adding a small amount of additional NO2 gas to an equilibrium mixture at 298 K would have only a limited effect on the equilibrium position in terms of the magnitude of Kc. Discuss what, if anything, would change for the value of Kc itself.